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Abdominal Massage

Exploring the Colon and Iliocecal valve

+What we cover today

Who I am

Where abdominal massage comes from

What it is

Why I think it’s great

Physiology of digestion especially colon and iliocecal valve

Theories about the emotional meaning of the colon and iliocacel valve

Armouring in the abdomen

What happens when we massage the abdomen

What I actually do in a session

Demonstration

+My Background

ITEC in holistic massage 1993

Gerda Boyesen institute Gerda and Ebba Boyesen 1997

Chiron 2000

Pregnancy 2008

Abdominal Sacral 2013

Combined with PAPA Birth Network and websites

+Abdominal Sacral Massage

Abdominal massage is an ancient healing art practiced the world over

Can still be found in Russia, Turkey and Mexico

Fertility

Digestive disorders

Painful periods

Aligning the uterus

Hormonal issues like PCOS

Menopausal symptoms

Rosita Arvigo learnt it in Belize and took it to the States

Rosita taught my teachers Helen Rohlicek and Clare Blake

+What happens in a massage?

Massage to sacrum lower back, uterus, colon, ICV and small intestine.

It is deep, though can be done with a light touch in an intentional way.

+Why I am drawn to the work

Personal

Work increasingly woman centered

Wanting to work with my own complicated feelings about my belly

 

Professional

Peristalsis - I was wondering why, if peristalsis is so vital to our work, is the belly so absent in the literature.

Bridging the gap between the Biodynamic and pregnancy work

Interest in the uterus and digestion

+Is it OK to touch bellies? My first experience of massaging a belly – challenging to

say the least! Who was taught to massage bellies? Who actually does? What stops you? What qualities do you associate with bellies? Feeling center – vulnerable – care required – courage and

safety in coming to the front of he body. Feminine Yin Vulnerable Great deal of care required, clear boundaries, permission

and clarity when coming to the front of the body. Cultural self-disgust at our bellies, loose a pound of body

fat/cover of Daily Mail etc.

+Physiology of Digestion

Peritoneum – lines the abdominal cavity, provides mucus to support movement

Mouth

Esophagus – id canal

Stomach – sphincter each end, churns up the food into chime. Hydrochloric acid.

Small Intestine – assimilation and digestion of nutrients

Duodenum – 10 inches

Jejunum – about 2 feet

Ilium is twice as long as the jejunum – as tall as a giraffe

Brings us to the ICV

+Physiology of Ileocecal Valve

On the right side, midway between the naval and the hip bone – when you find it, it feels like a nose.

Known as the great mimicker by chiropractors because of the range of symptoms it can cause…

Function is to prevent backflow from the Li to the SI – it should be mostly closed, only opening briefly to let the content exit.

Separating nourishment from waste.

+Valve can be stuck open Backwash in to Small intestine

Allows fecal matter to be used in the making of blood

Allows fecal matter to be absorbed as nourishment

Gas

HIGHLY TOXIC!!

Classic flu and common cold-type symptoms

Back ache

Runny poo/frequency

Achy muscles

Fever

Unclear thinking

Blurred vision

Inability to process information

+Valve Stuck Shut Hinders process of eliminating waste

Pain

HIGHLY TOXIC also

Elimination problems

Constipation

Inflammation of the appendix

Inability to let go

Rigid outlook

Over attachment to people/conditions/situations

These problems are worsened by bad diet, eating habits and stress/trauma

+Solution?

Chew thoroughly – esp. nuts and wholefoods don’t shovel food down.

Manage stress.

Massage to general area and large intestine to encourage circulation and energy

Trigger point

+Colon Physiology 1.5m long, 5cm diameter, flat when empty round tube when full.

Waste is moved through by peristalsis- combination of round and long muscles.

Caecum – bag- holding tank of waste – appendix is attached here

Ascending colon – up r hand side to the

Hepatic flexure – which becomes the

Transverse colon passes below the rib cage then turns l at the

Splenic flexure

Down to

Descending colon – which then loops up to the rectum, 2 sphincters one for holding on one for letting go.

Anus = exit

+The Function of the Colon

Store waste material

To absorb water and electrolytes (salts and chemicals for cell health) through the walls of the colon, so the waste becomes dryer as it goes along. Slow passage = hard poo, fast passage = runny poo.

Breaks down the waste with bacteria

Produces serotonin – the intestinal mucosa produce 95% of serotonin, used to regulate intestinal movement, so digestive health is deeply entwined with emotional well being and peristalsis.

+Colon Cancer 41,000 people with colon caner every year in the UK, more

people than suffer from breast cancer.

Mostly men 60+

Approx 50% survival rate

An increase of 29% since 1970’s

What has changed?

Symptoms

Blood in poo

Bleeding from rectum

Diarrhoea/constipation for more than 3 weeks

Abdominal pain

Unexplained weight loss

+Dysfunction of Colon Apart from constipation/diarrhea you may notice

Waste material eliminated through the skin i.e.

Acne

Blocked pores

Catarr

Impaired sense of smell

Emotionally

Cut off because they can’t let go.

Bitterness

Stuckness

‘A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing’

+Emotion and Meaning

Id canal - , the passage of raw, primary personality that is regulated by the ego/musculature.

Peristalsis

Gerda Boyesen

+Peg Nunneley

Chemostatic fluid from unresolved cycles

Nurse

Psychologist

Teacher at Gerda Boyesen Institute ( Mary Malloy)

died 2004,

+Peg Nunneley

The Biodynamic Philosophy and Treatment of Psychosomatic Conditions

Describes working with Ann for one session, who was experiencing exhaustion, chronic diarrhea and pain in her abdomen. She had been cleared of bowel disease and serious pathologies.

Ann lay on her left side and Peg held her solar plexus and the top of her back for 15 mins, after which the peristalsis began and she took a few release breaths, appearing deeply relaxed. She then rested for 30 mins. After two more days of exhaustion Ann started to recover.

Peg explains the symptoms as a result of visceral armouring caused by repeated uncompleted cycles. It is Gerda’s theory of chemostatic fluid retained in the gut walls that is causing the symptoms.

+Reich

Muscular armouring

Muscular armouring, protective mechanism to manage our feelings. Muscles and tissues become tense and rigid. I am told, though I haven’t been able to find a source, that Reich thought that xyphoid process to naval was the most armoured part of a body.

Diaphragm

+Kathryn Stauffer

Digestion as assimilation

Letting go (or not)

Peristalsis – digesting experience

Digestion converting ‘not me’ into ‘me’

Distinguish between what we need now, and what will hurt us.

Peristalsis – thinking through/digesting thoughts and experiences in a relaxed way generates noise.

+JR Worsley

Called the colon ‘the drainer of the dregs’

‘The Dustbin Man’

There’s a sense of how overlooked this organ is, and yet if it stops taking away the waste, the rubbish begins to pile up!

Points either side of nose ‘welcome fragrance’

Small intestine dysfunction –

Cannot separate the pure from the impure

or if you ask a question, they can’t decide on an answer.

+How do we Manage our Energy in our bellies?

Different ways that energy is suppressed in abdomen

Suggestions please!

Diaphragm. Breath holding

Visceral armour

Abs and musculature

Fascia

… and all these serve to manage our primary personality, our ID

+What effect does massage have on the abdomen? Supporting the peristalsis

Enlivening the fascia and connective tissue

Creating more blood flow and better functioning.

Activating the para-sympathetic nervous system

Encouraging damaged nerve growth

Loosening rigidity in the abdominal muscles

Working on the colon to improve energy and liveliness.

Encourages softness,

Centeredness

Learn to love our bellies – gratitude

Relationship to mothering

Feeling about being a woman

+What I do in a session

Regulation

Release and distribution

The massage is quite deep and in our terms, melts away the armouring or secondary personality. Working on the belly creates quite a strong charge that I mostly work only with intention of creating more space or more release. So I might work on the sacrum and on the belly, just very gently, and then work to distribute the energy.

I remember Babette Rothschild illustrating her work with trauma with a coke bottle, shaking it up and then releasing the lid a bit at a time. This is often how I work with abdominal clients, a little abdominal work, balanced out by holding or energy distribution or grounding.

+Physical – emotional healing

Clients come with physical symptoms like bloating or painful periods and in the process of the massage the emotional issues come up very strongly, the feelings are more accessible somehow. The symptoms improve. So I feel like I’ve landed in exactly the right place, because hopefully, I have the skills to both unwind the holding and to contain the emotions as my clients work through them.

+Links and contact details

Kate www.KateCodringtonMassage.co.uk

Leora www.auraholistictherapies.com

Abdominal training Helen Rohlicek www.abdominal-sacralmassage.com

Fertility training Clare Blake www.fertilitymassage.co.uk